Biden Budget Ends Tax-Free Launches For Space X

The New York Times reports:

Every time a rocket soars into the sky carrying satellites or supplies for the International Space Station, air traffic controllers on the ground must take crucial steps to ensure that commercial and passenger aircraft remain safe. The controllers, hired by the Federal Aviation Administration, close the airspace, provide real-time information on rockets and their debris and then reopen the airspace quickly after a launch is completed.

But unlike airlines, which pay federal taxes for air traffic controllers’ work for each time their planes take off, commercial space companies are not required to pay for their launches. That includes companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which has launched more than 300 rockets over the past 15 years. The Biden administration is looking to change that. President Biden’s latest budget proposal suggests that for-profit space companies start paying for their use of government resources.

Read the full article.

President Biden wants companies that use American airspace for rocket launches to start paying taxes into a federal fund that finances the work of air traffic controllers. https://t.co/sjjjjkeIRY

— NYT Science (@NYTScience) April 4, 2024